Electric-railway conduit



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- A. vT. PAY.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY GONDUIT.

No.522,46o. y l Amantea July 3,1894.

Yas

g UNITED STATESk ATENT lFFICE;

` ALBERT'T. FAY,.or MINNnAPoLs, MINNESOTA.

ELECTRIC-,RAILWAY coNDUlT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 522,460, dated July 3, 1894. I

Application led April l5, 1892.l Renewed November 16, 1893. l Serial No. 491,161. `(No mdelJ To all whom it ma/yconcern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT T. FAY, of Min-v neapolis, Hennepin county, Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Underground Conduite, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an underground conduit for electric street railways and its 0bj ect is to greatly simplify the construction of suchyconduits and to lessen their cost.

To this end my invention consists in the` combination with the rails and the ties where- On the same rest, of stringers or beams resting upon -said ties, the spacev above the same being closed by surface plates so arranged las to leave a continuous slot for the accommodation offa trolley arm. Beneath the ties .and

.midway between'the rails I provide an arti-` icial stone trough, the `upper Walls of which extend upward between the several ties and join with the under sides of said stringers thereby leaving an opening between each two ties, and of a width equal to the distance between the inner walls of said trough or the lower part of the conduit. i

The invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in whichp Figure 1 is a cross section of a street car track provided with an electric conduit embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section thereof, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged isometric view showing more clearly the detail construction of the conduit.

As shown in the drawings, 2 representsthe cross-ties upon which the street car rails are secured.

4 represents the pavement which arches toward the middle of the track and is completed at the middle by oppositely inclined surface plates 5 arranged so as to form a narrow slot between their inner edges.V These plates are made in sections so that any portion of the conduit top may be readily removed to repair the inside thereof. The plates are supported upon the inclined tops of the stringers 7 between which is an opening of several inches adapted to receive theinsulating strips 8 upon which the electrical conductor rail 9 is laid midway between the wooden stringers 7.

In the middle of the track I make a small excavation and mold therein the concave trough or lower part of the conduit. Thus as shown plainly in Fig. 3 the upper wall 40 extendsupwardly between the cross ties `2 and makes a tight joint with the under sidesof` the stringers 7 which are laid thereon while the concrete or like water proof material of which the conduit is made is still comparatively soft.

Inv this manner a continuous and water tight ploy with my conduit owing to the fact that.

with its `usethe tearing upof the surface plates is'prevented by virtue of a breakable joint 2l which I provide in the trolley-arm, the same being weaker than the rest, of the trolley arm and held in place by internally threaded sleeves 16 and 17 lapping over upon the threaded parts 20 of the upper and lower sections of the arm. The trolley wheel 13selcured in the yoke 14 of the arm is'held in place by a spring 19 attached to the part 17 extending forward from the pivot pin 18 for the arm. This device however forms the subject matter of a separate-application of mine, which application is dated July 22, 1892, and was tiled in the United States Patent Office July 26, 1892, receiving the Serial No.41i1,236.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent-r 1. The combination, in an electric conduit,

of the cross ties' and the rails thereon, lwith middle stringers resting upon said ties, surface plates arranged on said stringers, a space being left between the inner edges of said plates, an insulating strip extending parallel with said stringers and secured on the tops of the cross ties, a conductor wire or rail provided on said strip and a trolley arranged to travel in theconduit formed between Ysaid stringere and upon said conductor, substantially as described.

2. In an electric railway conduit, the combination with the cross ties andthe rails thereon, of the stringers 7 resting upon the tops of said cross ties, surface plates secured upon the tops of said stringers, aslot being left between the inner edges of said plates, a strip of insulating material arranged parallel with said stringers and on the ties an electric conductor fixed on the top of said strip, and the lower part of the conduit, openings being provided between the ties and leading into said lower part, substantially as described.

3. In an electric railway conduit, the combination with the cross-ties of the stringers 7, 7 arranged thereon, the surface plates secured on said stringere, a slot being left between the inner edges of said plates, an insulating strip provided on the cross ties and carrying a conductor wire or rail, a trolley to engage the same, and the lower part of the conduit made up of water proof material and having its upper walls extending upward between the several cross ties and joining with the under sides of said stringere, substantially as described.

4E. The combination with the cross ties and the rails arranged thereon, of the middle stringers 7 arranged on the ties, an insulating strip resting on the cross ties and paral- 

